Educators recognized for contribution to university

DARTMOUTH — The UMass Dartmouth Faculty Federation, Local 1895, has recognized standout educators for their contributions to the university.

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Posted Dec. 30, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Posted Dec. 30, 2007 at 12:01 AM

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DARTMOUTH — The UMass Dartmouth Faculty Federation, Local 1895, has recognized standout educators for their contributions to the university.

On Dec. 17, the Scholar of the Year Award was presented to internationally acclaimed Portuguese scholar Anna Klobucka; the Teacher of the Year Award to Emmanuel Ojadi, chemistry/biochemistry department chair; and the Employees Service Union Service Award to Lisa Jochim, director of the Workers' Education Program.

American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts President Thomas Gosnell presented past union president Dr. Daniel Georgianna with a plaque commemorating his 15 years of service as president. The current president is Dr. James Griffith.

Dr. Klobucka, professor of Portuguese, has published three books this year, and a host of recent journal articles in Luso-African-Brazilian Studies. Dr. Ellen W. Sapega, professor of Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote, "My knowledge of her work leads me to affirm without doubt that she is presently one of the top scholars in the field of modern Portuguese literature and culture."

Dr. Ojadi won the Leo M. Sullivan Award in Teaching with nominations by both colleagues and students for his exceptional dedication to student learning. One colleague, Dr. David Z. Goodson, remarked how Prof. Ojadi had modernized the standard 50-year-old physical chemistry textbook by devising new experiments, and broadening lab experimentation into biological and materials science fields. He said these cross-cutting experiments are "rare" in undergraduate physical chemistry courses at other universities.

Former student Erik Domingoes of New Bedford, now a medical student at UMass Medical School in Worcester, said, "You never know the impact Dr. Ojadi has on your learning until you sit down and listen to him teach."

Ms. Jochim, who won the ESU Service Award, is director of the Workers' Education Program, which offers GED preparation, literacy and a number of other courses at work sites throughout the area. Her nominator, Dr. James Griffith, said Ms. Jochim, "With a minimum of resources from anywhere "¦ makes one of the best programs in New England functional, visible, and a place where people can chart their own destiny."

Each prize winner received $1,000 in addition to his or her award.

UMass President Jack Wilson, who participated in the program, described the five-campus system's record-setting $404 million research and development activities in the 2006 fiscal year, and the business partnership between China and UMass that has already produced $27 million in technology commercialization revenue for the campuses.

He called the University of Massachusetts "a global university with global impact." He also applauded the ongoing work of UMass Dartmouth's professional staff and faculty and its impact on the reputation of the system.